Hooded clothing

ABSTRACT

An article of clothing has a hood comprising an outer hooded portion and an inner hooded portion releasably secured within the outer hooded portion by fasteners. The inner hooded portion is provided with speakers connectable to an audio device providing the hood with an audio function that can be detached if required.

This invention concerns improvements in or relating to hooded clothing.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided clothingcomprising a first, outer hood portion that is arranged to extend aroundthe head of the wearer and a second, inner hood portion that is arrangedto extend around the head of the wearer, the inner hood portionreleasably attached to the outer hood portion by fastening means, andthe inner hood portion having one or more speakers attached thereto.

This invention has the advantage that the speaker(s) give the clothingan audio function and the inner hooded portion can be removed when thespeaker(s) are not required and/or could be damaged, for example whenthe clothing is being washed, when it is raining or when the wearer doesnot wish to have a solid object, such as the speaker(s), present in thehood. The clothing can be used as a normal hooded garment as well asclothing with audio functionality. By employing one or more speakers inthe hood, an audio function is provided that does not require the wearerto use an earpiece. As a result, the wearer is not isolated fromexternal sound sources and can, for example, hear and respond to soundssuch as traffic. In this way, safety of the wearer while using the audiofunction is improved.

The fastening means may be located at the edge of the hooded portionsand may be hook and loop fasteners such as available under the trademarkVelcro™, press stud fasteners or zip fasteners. In this way, any hardedges associated with the fastening means are located away from thewearer's head.

Preferably the inner hooded portion is provided with a pair of speakersand, in one arrangement, further speakers are provided in the innerhooded portion. This may allow audio effects such as 3:1 stereo, 5:1stereo and true stereo surround.

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided aclothing accessory comprising a hooded portion arranged to extend aroundthe head of a wearer, the hooded portion having one or more speakersattached thereto, and fastening means comprising at least one pair ofco-operable members, one of the members attached to the hooded portionand the other member for attaching to a hood of a garment such that thehooded portion can be releasably attached to the hood of the garment.

In this way, the clothing accessory can be retrofitted to a conventionalhood to provide clothing according to the first aspect of the invention.The clothing accessory can be used with any selected one of a range ofgarments having a hood to which the accessory can be secured.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by example only,with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 shows an inner hood portion according to a first embodiment ofthe invention:

FIG. 2 shows the interior of an inner hood portion according to a secondembodiment of the invention:

FIG. 3 shows the exterior of the inner hood portion shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a detail of a speaker employed in the inner hood portion ofFIGS. 2 and 3; and

FIG. 5 shows lay-out of the connections for the speaker system employedin the inner hood portion of FIGS. 2 and 3.

Referring first to FIG. 1 of the drawings, a first embodiment of theinvention is shown comprising a hood 1 having an outer hooded portion 2and an inner hooded portion 3. The inner hooded portion is releasablyattached to the outer hooded portion by fasteners 4,5,6. In thisembodiment, the fasteners 4,5,6 are of the hook and loop type such asavailable under the trademark Velcro™ where a first fabric tape or striphas the hooks and a second fabric tape or strip has the loops thatengage with the hooks to secure releasably the strips or tapes together.It will be understood, however, that other fasteners may be employed.The fasteners 4,5,6 are located around the edge of the hooded portions2,3 with hooks on one of the hooded portions and the loops on the otherhooded portion. The outer hooded portion 2 may be an integral part of agarment such as a jacket, coat, sweater, tracksuit top or any other itemof clothing that may be provided with a hood. Alternatively, the outerhooded portion may be releasably attached to the garment. Part only of agarment is indicated in the drawing by reference numeral 10.

Integrally attached to the inner hooded portion 3 is a pair of speakers7 (only one of which is shown) arranged on opposite sides of the innerhooded portion 3. In a modification (not shown) the speakers aredetachable from the inner hooded portion 3. Connected to the speakers isa wire 8 having at its end a jack plug 9. The jack plug 9 is releasablyconnectable to an output from an audio, preferably portable, device (notshown) such as a personal CD player, personal MP3 player, personal DVDplayer or any other suitable device, for communicating audio signalsfrom the device to the speakers 7.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 to 5 of the drawings, a second embodiment ofthe invention is shown in which like reference numerals in the series100 are used to indicate parts corresponding to the first embodiment.

In this second embodiment, the inner hooded portion 103 is releasablysecured to the outer hooded portion (not shown) by press studs 120. Thepress studs 120 comprise male parts attached to one of the hoodedportions that are mateable with female parts attached to the otherhooded portion to secure releasably the inner hooded portion 103 withinthe outer hooded portion. The outer hooded portion is provided with aninternal flap that overlies the peripheral edge of the inner hoodedportion 103 when it is secured to the outer hooded portion so that theperipheral edge of the inner hooded portion 103 is concealed providing aneat and attractive finish. The flap also protects the wearer from themating press studs 120 employed to secure the inner hooded portion 103to the outer hooded portion. The outer hooded portion may be an integralpart of the clothing or it may be releasably attached to the clothing.

The inner hooded portion 103 is provided with a pair of speakers 107 a,107 b located in a pocket (not shown) inside the inner hooded portion103. The pocket is accessible from the outer surface 103 a of the innerhooded portion 103 by an opening that is closed by a zip fastener 121that allows the speakers 107 a, 107 b to be placed inside and removedfrom the inner hooded portion 103. The zip fastener 121 may be replacedby any other suitable means for releasably closing the opening. In amodification (not shown) the speakers 107 a, 107 b are integrallyattached to the inner hooded portion 103, for example by stitching orother suitable means of attachment.

The pocket is provided on the inner surface 103 b of the inner hoodedportion 103 with a perforated region 122 aligned with the speakers 107a, 107 b to improve the transmission of sound from the speakers to thewearer of the hood. In this embodiment, the speakers 107 a, 107 b are oflightweight construction comprising an exciter 123 attached to aflexible pad 124. In this embodiment the pad 124 is 90 mm by 63 mm by 2mm and is made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam but it will beunderstood that other sizes and materials may be employed. The flexiblenature of the foam pad allows the speaker to conform to the shape of thehood thereby improving comfort for the wearer and also protecting thewearer from rigid parts of the speaker. Although the pad 124 is shownhaving a rectangular shape, it will be understood that other shapes ofpad such as circular, oval may be used.

In this embodiment, an amplifier 125 powered by one or more batteries isdetachably mounted in a pouch 126 attached to the inner hooded portion103 and the speakers 107 a, 107 b are provided with wires 108 connectedto a jack plug 109 for releasably connecting the speakers 107 a, 107 bto the amplifier 125 via a socket 130. The wiring is concealed withinthe inner hooded portion 103 and the releasable connection allows thespeakers 107 a, 107 b and associated wiring to be removed from the innerhooded portion 103 if desired for any reason.

Connected to the amplifier 125 is a wire cord 128 provided at its endwith a jack plug 129 for releasably connecting the amplifier 125 to anaudio, preferably portable, device such as a personal CD player,personal MP3 player, personal DVD player or any other suitable device.

As will be appreciated from the description of the exemplaryembodiments, the invention provides a simple and effective method ofproviding speakers in the hood of an article of clothing that allows thespeakers to be detached from the clothing if required. For example, ifthe clothing is to be washed or the wearer does not wish to use theaudio function, the inner hooded portion can be detached allowing thearticle of clothing to be washed or worn without the speakers (andassociated wiring and, where provided power pack). The outer hoodedportion may be an integral part of the article of clothing and the innerhooded portion may be used with any selected one of several articleshaving an outer hooded portion to which the inner hooded portion can beattached. Alternatively, the outer hooded portion may be detachablysecured to the article of clothing allowing the entire hood to bedetached from the article and, if desired, attached to another articleof clothing.

It will be understood that modifications and alterations can be made tothe specific embodiments as described herein without departing from thescope of the invention.

For example, the inner and outer hooded portions could be releasablyattached by any suitable means, such as press studs, zips, Velcro™ andthe like. The locations of the releasable fasteners for attaching theinner hooded portion to the outer hooded portion could be altered.Furthermore, the hood could be an item separate from another garment orcould be integrally or releasably attached to another garment, such as ajumper/pullover or coat. The inner and outer hooded portions may be madeof fabric or any other suitable material. Although in the embodimentsdescribed the inner hood portion has two speakers, typically arranged tobe positioned on either side of the head of the wearer adjacent to theears of the wearer, it will be understood that the inner hooded portionmay be provided with any number of speakers to provide any desired soundreproduction and effect. In the simplest form of the invention it iscontemplated that one speaker may be employed although a minimum of twois preferred.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a garmenthaving a hood comprising a first, outer hood portion attached to thegarment and a second, inner hood portion that is releasably attached tothe outer hood portion by fastening means and is provided with one ormore speakers or similar device for providing the hood with an audiofunction.

The outer hood portion may be integral with the garment or detachablefrom the garment. The one or more speakers may be integral with theinner hood portion or detachable from the inner hood portion.

1. Clothing comprising a first, outer hood portion that is arranged toextend around the head of the wearer and a second, inner hood portionthat is arranged to extend around the head of the wearer, the inner hoodportion being releasably attached to the outer hood portion by fasteningmeans, and provided with one or more speakers.
 2. Clothing according toclaim 1 wherein the fastening means is located at the edge of the hoodedportions.
 3. Clothing according to claim 1 wherein the fastening meanscomprises at least one pair of co-operable members, one of the membersattached to the outer hood portion and the other member attached to theinner hood portion.
 4. Clothing according to claim 1 wherein thefastening means is selected from hook and loop fasteners, press studfasteners or zip fasteners.
 5. Clothing according to claim 1 whereinfurther speakers are provided in the inner hooded portion.
 6. Clothingaccording to claim 1 wherein the speakers are integrally attached to theinner hooded portion.
 7. Clothing according to claim 1 wherein thespeakers are releasably attached to the inner hooded portion. 8.Clothing according to claim 1 wherein the speakers are adapted forconnecting to an audio device.
 9. Clothing according to claim 8 whereinthe speakers are connectable to an amplifier.
 10. Clothing according toclaim 9 wherein the amplifier is attached to the inner hooded portion.11. Clothing according to claim 1 wherein the speakers comprise anexciter attached to a flexible pad.
 12. Clothing according to claim 1comprising a hooded coat, jacket, sweater, tracksuit top, sweatshirt.13. A clothing accessory comprising a hooded portion arranged to extendaround the head of a wearer and having one or more speakers, andfastening means comprising at least one pair of co-operable members, oneof the members attached to the hooded portion and the other member forattaching to a hood of a garment such that the hooded portion can bereleasably attached to the hood of the garment.
 14. A clothing accessoryaccording to claim 13 wherein the hooded portion is configured to bepositioned within the hood of the garment to which it is secured.